Close up of my delicious and juicy Paleo Meatloaf served with roasted cauliflower, onion, and garlic mashers

…just like your Mom makes BUT MUCH MUCH BETTER! Scouts honor.

I have been perfecting my Paleo meatloaf recipe for quite some time now. I am so happy with how it turned out that I feel it is my civic duty to share with you all this recipe as soon as I humanly can. Meatloaf gets a bad wrap these days or at least that has always been the case in my eyes. I always assumed meatloaf was just meat that was on the verge of going bad and in it’s last attempt to save it, you schlep it together with some veggies, pour ketchup on it and viola there you have it…MEATLOAF! GROSS!

Here are a few reasons why you need to try MY Paleo makeover for meatloaf:

1. I sautéed the onions BEFORE I mixed it in with the raw meet and put it in the oven to bake. How many of you have added raw onions to your meatloaf and when it comes out of the oven after cooking for over an hour and the onions are still raw? EPIC FAILURE in my book.

2. You can thank Ina Garten for this next improvement.  I don’t have cable TV anymore (don’t make fun of me, but I don’t have time to watch TV when I am running around trying to juggle on a daily basis work, kids, masters program, blogging, working out, etc) but when I did have cable I loved watching the Food Network channel. I use to watch Ina like it was my J-O-B. Boy does that woman love butter. I can barely make anything that woman cooks now without growing two pant sizes BUT I did learn something important from those countless hours of watching her on TV. One time she was cooking a meatloaf in the oven and she put another pan filled with water UNDERneath the meatloaf. She said by placing the pan on a rack underneath the meatloaf, the water would steam up in the cooking process causing two things to occur to your meatloaf: keeps it moist and holds it together and it prevents your meatloaf from cracking or separating. I’M SOLD!

3. I don’t use ketchup on top of my meatloaf. You may call me UN-American but I think ketchup is too dry and boring. I used organic no sugar added tomato sauce. DELISH!

4. Lastly, I don’t bake my meatloaf in a loaf pan. Those pans give me the heebie jeebies. I like to free form it, mold it myself, and bake it on a cookie sheet. It looks prettier and in my opinion lets the meat breathe during the cooking process. SO TRUE!

My one disclaimer to this amazing, finger licking good, kids ask for it daily Pealo meatloaf is I do use worcestershire sauce in this recipe (which all store bought versions are not Paleo). So SUE me; this recipe is only 99.87% paleo. If you want to make a more Paleoish worcestershire sauce recipe use this recipe. I made it a few times and I think it takes the same. Right now, I am just lazy and cheap. My plan is I am going yo use up the worcestershire sauce I already have and once I finish it, I plan to triple the homemade Paleo recipe and save it in the bottle where we have the store bought, highly processed, sugared version. Don’t judge. There is worse things in life.

I served this delicious Paleo Meatloaf with my Roasted garlic, onion and sweet potato mashers or you can serve it with my Roasted garlic, onion and cauliflower mashers. BOTH are delicious! You can thank me later!

4.7 from 14 reviews

Paleo Meatloaf

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour

 

After you try this yummy Paleo Meatloaf recipe, you will forget about all the horrid childhood memories you have associated with eating meatloaf. This meatloaf will knock your socks off. I honestly hated meatloaf because every meatloaf I tried was dry and flavorless. This recipe is amazing, finger licking good, and your kids will ask for it daily!

Author: Our Full Plate

Recipe type: Paleo

Cuisine: Dinner

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 medium sized yellow onions, chopped (about 3 cups)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper
• 3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce (Paleo version preferred)
• ⅓ cup of chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
• 2½ pounds ground chuck (I use a combination of 85-96% lean)
• ½ cup of almond flour
• 2 extra-large eggs, beaten
• 1 (8 oz) can of tomato sauce

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees if you have time to cook your meatloaf for 1 hour or more. If you are pressed for time (like I always am) you can preheat your oven to 400 degrees and bake your meatloaf for 45 minutes.
2. Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan. Add the onions and minced garlic and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent but not brown.
3. Turn off the heat, add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste and allow to cool slightly.
4. In a large bowl, combine the ground chuck, onion mixture, almond flour, salt, pepper and eggs, and mix lightly with a fork.
5. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and mold the meatloaf mixture to about two inches thick throughout. If you prefer to use a big loaf pan to cook it than go for it, but I love molding it to a loaf.
6. Spread the tomato sauce evenly on top.
7. If are cooking at 325 degrees, bake for 1 to 1 hour and 20 minutes, until the internal temperature is 160 degrees F and the meat loaf is cooked through. If you are cooking at 400 degrees, bake for 45 minutes.
8. Place a pan of hot water in the oven, under the meat loaf. This will keep the top from cracking and keeping your meatloaf moist. I just filled a smaller loaf pan with two inches of water and it sufficed.

3.2.1284

Someone asked me the other day, if I felt deprived being Paleo. Look at these pictures, what do you think? Is this life filled of deprivation? I highly doubt it! These meals look like southern comfort food without the guilt!